CHAPTER 2 

◎ I still want to fly away with my pretty boy ◎

By evening, Ye Rou had calmed down. The sky outside was already dark when her stomach grumbled loudly. She turned to look at Zhou Huai beside her.

He said nothing, so Ye Rou lightly kicked his foot.

Ye Rou: “I want to eat.”

Without a word, Zhou Huai stood up, hands shoved in his pockets, and went out. He wasn’t calm yet. He and Ye Rou had no feelings for each other, and yet now they had to raise a child together.

When Zhang Ji saw Zhou Huai come out, he stomped his feet a few more times until they went numb.

Zhang Ji said, “Brother Zhou, why are you only coming out now? Since you’re getting divorced, what’s Ye Rou planning to do with that pretty boy?”

If they were really divorcing, then Ye Rou could openly be with that pretty boy. Their county wasn’t big—imagine the two of them showing up everywhere in front of their faces. Just the thought was enough to make him annoyed.

Zhang Ji muttered, “Tell me, why does she even like that pretty boy?”

Zhou Huai’s voice was icy. “Shut up.”

Zhang Ji quickly covered his mouth, then asked, “How about we call the others out and go have a meal together?”

Zhou Huai: “Not going.”

Zhang Ji: “Then Brother Zhou, what are you going to do now?”

Zhou Huai sneered. “Buy food for the ancestor and the little ancestor.”

Zhang Ji was baffled. “What for?”

Zhou Huai went to the restaurant he often visited. When it came time to order, he suddenly didn’t know what to get. He was a picky eater himself, and there were just a few dishes at this place that he liked—otherwise, he wouldn’t come here so often. But what about Ye Rou?

Normally, if Ye Rou wanted him to bring food back, he’d just order a few random dishes. In truth, he’d never really bought food for her before. But this time was different.

Who knew what pregnant women could eat?

Zhou Huai frowned. “What do pregnant women eat?”

The lady boss laughed. “Pregnant women? That I know. Nutrition’s the most important. How about I stew some soup for you to take home?”

Zhou Huai came here often, and the lady boss knew him. She’d never seen him bring a woman along before, so she assumed he was buying for someone else and didn’t pry further.

Zhang Ji lowered his voice. “Pregnant woman? What pregnant woman?”

Zhou Huai suddenly recalled something he’d heard—that before three months you shouldn’t say anything. Right, they always said you shouldn’t announce a pregnancy before three months. But now that he knew he was going to be a father, didn’t that mean the child was already three months along? Counting carefully, maybe even more than three.

As for doubting whether the child was his—no, he wasn’t going there. Ye Rou had even mentioned a paternity test.

Zhou Huai almost answered Zhang Ji, but then thought, maybe it’d be more cautious to wait until four months?

He shot him a glance. “Mind your own business.”

Ye Rou felt that things were better than she’d expected. She had imagined Zhou Huai to be mature, steady, and reliable, but in reality, none of those words seemed to apply to him. Still, at least he’d pinched his nose and accepted it.

The fact that Zhou Huai was willing to buy food was already showing his attitude. He was going to take responsibility.

Finally, she had the mind to take a closer look at their current place. It was a tube-shaped apartment, and she could even see some traces of their wedding.

For example, the red double happiness character pasted on the wall was still there, though faded. It showed that neither the original Ye Rou nor Zhou Huai had ever really treated this place as home.

Ye Rou waited for over half an hour, and Zhou Huai still hadn’t returned. She had toured the apartment several times already and muttered under her breath, “Unreliable.”

When Zhou Huai came back carrying food, Ye Rou looked at him as if asking why he had taken so long. From the time he left until now, it had already been over an hour.

Zhou Huai: “Waited for a soup.”

Ye Rou couldn’t even hide the disdain in her eyes. She even started wondering—was the male and female lead’s praise of Zhou Huai in the novel really not because of his capability and connections, but just because they wanted to work with a man who had money and power?

Annoyed by her look, Zhou Huai shoved the food at her and went straight to the bathroom for a shower. He shouldn’t have gone out of his way in the first place.

When Zhou Huai came out of the bathroom, his hair still wet, he noticed Ye Rou hadn’t touched the food yet.

Zhou Huai chuckled. “What, you waiting for me?”

Ye Rou couldn’t be bothered to answer. She picked up her chopsticks and started eating. The weather was hot, but the food hadn’t gone cold yet, just right for eating.

Luckily Zhou Huai showered quickly. Otherwise, Ye Rou definitely wouldn’t have waited for him to eat together.

Zhou Huai had bought lotus root and peanut pork bone soup, stir-fried cabbage, braised yellow croaker, and sweet-and-sour pork.

It was only because Zhou Huai had money that Ye Rou could eat these dishes so easily.

Ye Rou said, “I can’t be waiting a long time for you every day before eating, right?”

Zhou Huai nodded. “Then I’ll buy some ingredients tomorrow?” After saying that, he suddenly realized something. “Ye Rou, what do you mean by that?”

Ye Rou: “Just what you’re thinking. I don’t know how to cook.”

Zhou Huai: “……”

After a long silence, Zhou Huai finally said, “I’ll think of a way. For now, tomorrow you’ll just come eat out with me. Once we order, start with the dishes. By the time we finish, the soup will be ready and you can drink it.”

Ye Rou nodded. Besides, she couldn’t push him too hard.

After all, Zhou Huai didn’t exactly seem eager to be a father.

They didn’t finish all the food. Ye Rou figured that next time they didn’t need to order so much. Zhou Huai ate a lot, but still left some. They put the leftovers in the kitchen.

Ye Rou took a shower. As she dried her hair afterward, she instinctively looked for Zhou Huai—because Zhou Huai really couldn’t be allowed to run off.

She found him in the second bedroom. He hadn’t turned on the lights, and was standing there smoking. His long fingers held the cigarette as he looked back, a heavy look on his face.

Ye Rou could understand, but the next moment she shouted, “Zhou Huai, who said you could smoke in the house? Don’t you know there’s a pregnant woman here?”

Zhou Huai: “Ye Rou, I’m in my own room.”

Ye Rou slammed the door shut and went back to drying her hair. The smell of smoke lingered in the air. She really hated that tobacco smell. Even if she wasn’t pregnant, she wouldn’t have liked it.

Inside, Zhou Huai stood for a long time before finally snuffing out the cigarette. Ye Rou was too lazy to bother with him. She moved back to the master bedroom and began applying skincare. When she heard movement, she glanced back but said nothing.

Ye Rou: “No more smoking from now on. Do you realize I’m not just one person inhaling secondhand smoke—I’m two people. Two people, do you get that?”

Before transmigrating, Ye Rou had been spoiled and pampered. Her parents divorced and each remarried, building new families and having new children. But both of them still adored their daughter, giving her plenty of money and shares. So she’d grown up surrounded by attention, with a bit of a temper.

Zhou Huai was smoking in the guest room where he lived. When he turned to speak, he noticed Ye Rou actually looked a little sad.

Right—he suddenly remembered, Ye Rou had originally planned to elope today, to be with that pretty boy Jiang Jun.

Why did Zhou Huai always call Jiang Jun a “pretty boy”? Because Jiang Jun had been sitting the college entrance exams over and over and still hadn’t gotten in. He had no job, and he still planned to keep taking the exam. Every day he claimed he was studying, but who knew what he was actually doing? He didn’t look like he was studying at all.

Tsk tsk tsk, Ye Rou’s taste really was something.

If it weren’t for her pregnancy, right now Ye Rou would probably already be with Jiang Jun.

Zhou Huai asked curiously, “Weren’t you supposed to elope today?”

Ye Rou: “……”

This man—was he seriously bringing up old accounts?

Zhou Huai continued, “Since you wanted to elope, how did you even know you were pregnant, and that you’ve been pregnant for over three months?”

Ye Rou finished wiping her face and turned to look at him. Since everyone already knew about the elopement, there was no point in hiding or being coy. If she told Zhou Huai she hadn’t planned on eloping, would he believe her? Or if she told him she had suddenly changed her mind, that she didn’t want to divorce anymore, that she wanted to stay with him—would he believe that?

Ye Rou said, “When I was on my way back, I felt nauseous and wanted to throw up. After that, I realized I hadn’t had my period in a long time. Counting the days, that means I’ve been pregnant for over three months.”

Zhou Huai’s eyes actually lit up little by little. “Why don’t we go get it checked out?”

Ye Rou: “What, you’re hoping I’m not pregnant?”

Zhou Huai didn’t answer, but the meaning was obvious.

Ye Rou stood up. “Fine, tomorrow morning then. I still want to go off and fly away with my pretty boy.”

Zhou Huai chuckled, raising his brows. “So you admit he’s just a pretty boy?”

Ye Rou had let her true feelings slip, but how could she let Zhou Huai gain the upper hand? “That’s right. Think about it yourself—why would I prefer a pretty boy over you? Clearly, it’s your problem.”

Zhou Huai: “Plenty of women like me. Is it possible that it’s just your eyesight that’s bad?”

Ye Rou: “Sure, plenty of people like you. But in the end, you still married me and went to get that marriage certificate with me, didn’t you?”

Zhou Huai: “Twisting words.”

The two of them parted ways—he went back to the guest room, and she lay down in the master bedroom.

Ye Rou really couldn’t sleep. It would be strange if she could. She tossed and turned in bed, even secretly hoping that since she had transmigrated, maybe the pregnancy wouldn’t count anymore?

Thinking of such good luck, her insomnia vanished. Just before falling asleep, she even grumbled that the bedsheets weren’t smooth enough. She needed real silk—she had always slept on silk before.

Maybe she was just too tired. Ye Rou quickly drifted off into dreamland.

In the guest room, Zhou Huai couldn’t sleep either. Lying on his back with his hands behind his head, he stared out the window.

After marrying Ye Rou, the two of them were each preoccupied with someone else, neither wanting the marriage. On their wedding night, Ye Rou had even kicked him out. After that, Zhou Huai felt no different from being unmarried. Except for gaining a wife in name, nothing else had changed.

But now there was a child. That was different.

If Ye Rou hadn’t been pregnant, Zhou Huai already wouldn’t have been able to sleep tonight. Now, even more so.

When dawn was about to break, Zhou Huai finally got up, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and went to find Ye Rou.

Zhou Huai: “Ye Rou, Ye Rou, get up!”

Ye Rou didn’t respond. Zhou Huai called a few more times. “Ye Rou.”

When Ye Rou was finally woken up, she opened her eyes in a daze. After a moment, she remembered—she had transmigrated into the supporting female.

Ye Rou was never a morning person. Being woken up like this made her feel terrible, and Zhou Huai was still outside, persistently calling her to get up.

Zhou Huai: “Ye Rou, Ye Rou, wake up.”

Ye Rou: “……”